Albula vulpes
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water.
Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.
Florida · Key Largo / Pennekamp
Bonefish should be the day — wait for the flood; these fish have seen the catalog.
The first Key. Card Sound and Jewfish Creek to the north, Tavernier Creek to the south. Oceanside banks for bones and permit; Blackwater and Buttonwood for baby tarpon and snook. NOAA 8723689 is Point Charles (predictions). Water temp is Virginia Key 8723214 — there is no live well at Point Charles. Pennekamp is the launch. Adjacent FKNMS SPAs are no-take.
- ⚠ This brief is for 2025-01-27, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
- ⚠ Snook are typically closed to harvest on the SE/Atlantic coast in this window. Verify FWC.
- ⚠ FKNMS no-take water in this box: French Reef, Molasses Reef, Grecian Rocks + 3 more on the map. The red polygons are the legal source — do not fish them.
- Tide · modeled — NOAA 8723689 quiet
- NDBC LONF1 quiet
- Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
- Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
- Glass · modeled
- Water temp quiet
Forecast
low confidence
Forecast brief for Monday, January 27. Back to this morning
Morning line
Key Largo 6.5 on Monday, January 27. 10 mph SSE. Mostly clear. YOLO day is Thursday, August 27. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
low slack · -0.70 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From SSE · gust 12
Buoy
NDBC LONF1
Quiet
Long Key did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clouds
Mostly clear
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Glass
Open-Meteo modeled
30.00 inHg
1016 mb · no 3-hour change yet
Modeled mean sea level. Not a dock barometer. The glass is not a bite.
Moon
3% lit
Waning crescent
spring range · 3%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 1.4 ft
low slack
-0.70 ft modeled
Coast
No live coast layer
Red-tide check failed. That is not all-clear — open the agency page before you wade.
Sargassum check failed. Not a GPS pin. Not all-clear.
Clock
NOAA 8723689
- LowMon 7:00 AM · -0.70
- HighMon 2:00 PM · 0.68
- LowMon 8:00 PM · -0.66
- HighTue 2:00 AM · 0.62
- LowTue 9:00 AM · -0.59
Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.
Monthly YOLO day
Thursday, August 27
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. full · spring · tide range ~2.3 ft · wind to 15 mph · Thunderstorms · 28%
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
Where
This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.
- 5.7
channel gut · public structure · deep
The north throat. Public bridge and cut current. Not a Biscayne bank and not Islamorada. Baby tarpon and snook on the moving water.
- — channel gut on a low slack tide is a workable match.
skiffspinfly - 5.7
channel gut · public structure · deep
The south cut toward Plantation Key. Current is the fishery. Channel 5 is the next desk south — do not steal it.
- — channel gut on a low slack tide is a workable match.
skiffspinfly - 4.9
Garden Cove / Pennekamp oceanside
hard flat · public structure · skinny
The park is the launch, not a honey hole. Clean incoming on the named banks. Adjacent FKNMS SPAs are no-take — the red polygons are the legal source.
- — hard flat on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
- — In-play: Bonefish.
skiffflyspin - 4.9
hard flat · public structure · skinny
Named oceanside key and bank. Incoming is the shot. Educated fish, short window, boat traffic from the park.
- — hard flat on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
- — In-play: Bonefish.
skifffly - 4.9
mangrove edge · public structure · mid
Bayside. Baby tarpon and snook along the roots. Not the oceanside slam. Outgoing along the mangrove.
- — mangrove edge on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
skiffkayakspinfly
When
When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. First light and last light are named when the clock is the story. Today’s ring mixes the best mark, the lead fish, and the best window, then taxes the sky. A strong incoming can sit under a weak day if the wind or the fish is off. Calendar cells are a third recipe: range, moon, and the day’s forecast.
Incoming water
9.7Mon 9:00 AM → Mon 4:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Last light · outgoing
9.7Mon 3:00 PM → Mon 10:00 PM
Last light on outgoing water.
Last light · incoming
7.7Mon 9:00 PM → Tue 4:00 AM
Last light on incoming water.
First light · outgoing
7.7Tue 3:00 AM → Tue 10:00 AM
First light on outgoing water.
Incoming water
9.7Tue 10:00 AM → Tue 5:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Launch and beach access
County and state ramps near this water. FKNMS no-take is Keys-only, on the legal list.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Florida State Parks
Key Largo launch. Adjacent SPAs are no-take — check the red polygons.
Official sourceHarry Harris Park / Tavernier
Monroe County Parks
County park on the oceanside at the south end of Key Largo. Tavernier Creek is the cut.
Official source
Legal water
NOAA FKNMS management zones — Sanctuary Preservation Areas, Ecological Reserves, Research-Only.
French Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISMolasses Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISGrecian Rocks
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISKey Largo Dry Rocks
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISConch Reef
Sanctuary Preservation Area — no fishing / no take (typical SPA)
FKNMS GISConch Reef (Research Only)
Research Only — closed except permitted science
FKNMS GIS
+ 3 more zones on the map.
Why — and who
- — Tide is low slack (modeled — NOAA 8723689 Point Charles, Key Largo did not answer).
- — Mostly clear. Clouds steal the window on bones and permit.
- — Wind 10 mph SSE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
- — Waning crescent moon — spring tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.
7.3
Ocyurus chrysurus
Thermal window
—
Present, not peak.
Florida: typically 12 in total length, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here.
Florida: catch-and-release. Fish over 40 in must stay in the water. One harvest tag/year only for a potential IGFA record.
Trachinotus falcatus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here.
Florida: hook-and-line. Special Permit Zone (Keys) is tighter than the rest of the state — typically C&R. Verify FWC.
Lachnolaimus maximus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here.
Florida: Atlantic and Gulf bags differ. Monroe County is tighter. Fork-length minimum. Verify FWC.
Centropomus undecimalis
Thermal window
—
Closed to harvest — still swims, do not keep. Off-season here.
Region matters. SE/Atlantic (Jupiter, Biscayne): typically 28–32 in, 1/day, closed Dec 15–Jan 31 and June 1–Aug 31. Charlotte Harbor / Southwest (Boca Grande): typically 28–33 in, closed Dec 1–end of Feb and May 1–Sep 30. Snook permit required. Verify FWC.
Sphyraena barracuda
Thermal window
—
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak.
Generally unregulated. Ciguatera risk rises with size. Do not keep a big one for the table.
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
—
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here.
Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.
Regs citedFWC saltwater recreational · current FWC regional rules · rolls in 5 days. Snook closures are regional. Boca Grande is not Jupiter. Verify FWC before you keep one.